Looking for thought-provoking perspectives on the dynamic landscape of Asia? Explore our Opinions column for a diverse range of opinions from our student writers as they delve into the pressing issues, cultural nuances, and geopolitical developments that shape the region.
Between forgetting and remembering, this article examines how governments and civilians in East Asia confront war memories and construct their narratives of the war.
Impressions and stories from a summer spent working in a Japanese custom garage.
RAP:PUBLIC has emerged as an exciting addition to the Korean hip-hop survival show landscape with its 'no judges' format that empowers participating rappers to make critical decisions, including eliminations. While the show initially promised a more democratic and participant-driven approach, this article discusses how its reliance on spectacle-driven elements and live audience voting in the final stages risks reducing the competition to a popularity contest rather than a true test of artistry.
Observing how the collectivist culture in East Asia influences consumer behaviour. Asian consumers are shown to be more avoidant of risk, and prefer to be assured against risk through greater transparency and being given greater control in their consumer experience.
Man Po analyses how a Japanese artist's anime fan arts portray Hong Kong as a vertical, uncrowded, and cosmopolitan city.
Stephanie explores the increasing migration of Hong Kong's youth to mainland China for economic opportunities post the 2019 pro-democracy protests.
Fynn traces Hiroshima’s reconstruction to understand the place of post-war identity in Japanese society.
Owen unpacks ‘the globe’s elephant in the room’, Climate Change, in the context of Asian Russia.
In Sunnie’s review of the 2022 Japanese film Plan 75, she explores the possibility of this dystopian future becoming a reality.
The decision by Japan to discharge the Fukushima wastewater has sparked significant reactions, particularly from China. Owen investigates the justification of the embargo and its political origins.
Sunnie explores the recent A24-film Past Lives, asking questions about what it reflects about the identity struggles and immigration.
In this ethnographic piece, Man Po brings us along for a UCL Karaoke Society session and discusses topics of identity, globalisation, and diversity in the multicultural city of London.
Shirin Goh explores the fundamental question: Is Singapore a crossroad or clash of civilisation?
Callie Yoo discusses how the popular Netflix series invokes nostalgia while confronting viewers with uncomfortable truths about South Korean society.
Phoebe Chen analyses the reasons behind the tumult in Afghanistan and the factors behind the Taliban’s quick rise to power.
How has the world reacted to the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan? Ana Givran from France shines the spotlight on three different regions and their responses.
Initially, I was rather proud of my country’s response to this pandemic...However, this show of solidarity in handling a crisis could not be more starkly contrasted to Malaysia’s treatment of immigrants and refugees.
To mark the finale of our ‘Hong Kong: One Year Ago Today’ initiative as well as the significance of last year’s event, we reveal to you our final Opinion piece, ‘One Year Ago Today: Hong Kong’s Extradition Bill’. Reflecting on the events of last year, the article revisits ‘the rationale, the content of the bill that started it all, as well as the reasons for its widespread opposition.’
It has often been critiqued that the Hong Kong people’s trustful calls for the US President Donald Trump to ‘save’ the city during the current climate of crisis as futile and redundant in their approach. Not only are the demonstrators being used to ‘further their own ruin’ but are simply deluded by the apparent support from the Western media, equating maximum media exposure as shows of solidarity and support.
From socio-cultural identification to the collectivisation of separatism, localism, nationalism, demands for self-autonomous rule and democracy under the same motivations of ‘Hong Kong independence,’ the article, complemented with a summary of Hong Kong’s historical past, aims to highlight the differences behind all these terms and focus on Hong Kong’s ‘core values’ and related merits.
Over the last two decades, the city has witnessed a series of social conflicts over issues such as competition for school entry quotas and milk powder scandals, most of which saw clashes between ‘New Immigrants’ and members of the local community. Closer analysis reveals that events relating to promotions of ‘One China’ have repeatedly brought about clashes in Hong Kong’s society. Whilst this identity was predetermined by its historic past, the escalation of social conflicts into the current climate of social unrest suggests that conflicting interests are no longer result of cultural differences but a contradiction with local interests and Hong Kong’s ‘core values.’
The lack of collective unity felt in Hong Kong owes massively to its historical and cultural background. Having undergone a turbulent 20th century, characterised by two regime changes in China in 1949 and 1966 respectively and later the end to British colonial rule in 1997, whilst nationalist sentiments were arguably present, they were never powerful enough to stimulate a political movement.
From initial emigration waves in 1980s and the handover of sovereignty from Britain to China in 1997 to the 2014 Umbrella Movement and the Extradition Bill Crisis of 2019, Hong Kong has had its fair share of uncertainties throughout its history and has come out on top against all odds. However, recent events, such as the implementation of the National Security Bill, greatly threatens to compromise the city’s long-standing merits.
Although widely talked about, the fertility rate crisis has remained an ongoing and unsolved crisis for the last couple of decades, a problem that the majority of developed nations are beginning to experience or have already started experiencing the repercussions of. Incorporating the cultural and economic nuances of the East Asian region, a look into why population decline is imminent and whether we are at a stage to prevent it is a question this article hopes to explore.